Persona 4: The Return of the Midnight Channel
by Scribble-Dead
Summary: Story takes place 4 years after the True Ending of Persona 4. Soji returns to Inaba after the murder incidents but was he right that the Midnight Channel is gone forever? R&R! P4 Spoilers ahead. Rated T due to language and violence with blood.
1. Case 1: Akeno 1

Edited in: 29th December 2008 (Version 1.3; information from P4 corrected, correction of spelling errors, addition of lines.)

The morning lights shone on the black-haired man as he reached his destination, and moving along with the crowd, he walked out, transferring into another train. Not wanting to stand out from the crowd, he wore a pair of sunglasses to hide his identity. After all, he's a worldwide star. But, it's not an ordinary one.

A world famous classical musician, Akeno Shoji (明野 東海林).

With his red eyes standing out without his sunglasses, surely he had imagined what would happen to him. It was not easy for the world-class musician to endlessly beg for his manager to rest in a quiet countryside in Inaba, Japan. After all, he's been traveling around the world; Europe; North America, South America, Asia and even in South Africa for his fans around the world to listen to his majestically but touching music. He was tired of getting all the attention as the years goes by and would just want to settle in a quiet place. He's still human, after all despite being a prodigy in music, attending one of the most famous music institutions at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Noticing another man standing out in the crowd too; a man with silver hair, his hairstyle stands out the most as it was unusual and a little outdated (In Akeno's opinion). He had an expression that was a little impatient, waiting for 4 years to see his friends in his countryside again when he was a junior in high school for a year. With a digital single-lens reflex camera hanging around his neck, wearing a short sleeved unbuttoned checkered shirt and a pair of black slacks, he was just staring at a photo while waiting for the other train to arrive.

But on the other side, Akeno was just concerned about his looks, and his unusual red eyes.

Soon after, the train arrived. Both men went separate ways despite taking the same train, and no later, the train dash to its next destination.

* * *

Yasogami High School  
Morning  
12th April 2016

"On your marks…go!" blowing the whistle as loud as she wants to, the brunette woman, with her PE slacks, the color different than the rest who are much younger observed her students running on the track. She was picking the fastest runner to represent the class for an inter-class sports match, class against class. Taking down the timing on her blue clipboard, she signaled the next batch of students to get on track.

"Satonaka-sensei…Miki's injured herself. You don't mind me taking her to the sick bay?" asked one of her students, holding the other girl in her arm. The other girl's knee was bleeding profusely, her expression crying out in pain. The teacher smiled, giving them the permission to get the injured student to tend her injury.

Chie Satonaka looked up to the sky as her beautiful smile shone brightly. The students were in their positions, ready to start anytime.

"On your marks…get set…GO!" And the whistle blew.

* * *

Hanamura Household, living room  
Early Morning (Sunrise)  
12th April 2016

"Gosh…he did it this time…"

Watching a celebrity conducting a stunt never seen before in his entire life, the male brunette took a sip of green tea and munched on his fried salmon with rice while still overwhelmed by the presence of the celebrity.

With pieces of paper scrambled around the floor that covered almost half the area, he lazily picked his letters up to pay his electrical bills later. After all, he has been wasting electricity while his parents aren't home since they are always working at the 5-year old Junes Shopping Mall in town. One thing he was glad about that his parents were not around; if they see the mess their son has created, he would be in probation, even though he is 22 this year.

Yosuke switched his television off, grabbed his haversack and left for his job. His breakfast…he couldn't be bothered to put it aside when he comes back from work.

"I rather die than face 'Brown' insulting me in front of the public in the radio session."

* * *

Russia, Moscow  
Evening  
12th April 2016

"Thank you! Thank you for all your support! I hope you have a good night! See you again on my next world tour!"

The star idol left the stage, too exhausted to walk properly. Her last concert in Moscow has ended, with good response that she would conduct another world tour to please her fans. The redhead untied her hair and got on to the sleek black limousine, lying down on her manager's legs.

"Phew! I thought I never pulled this off! I'm so going back to Japan!" exclaimed the super idol, her eyes closed. "And I need to clear my make-up off."

"Well, I have some good and bad news, Rise. But since it's so late and you're exhausted after tonight's concert, I will want to pull it off till tomorrow morning when we are heading back to Japan." Her manager, a bespectacled man with a typical businessman suit on adjusted his glasses. He was a few years older than Rise, but he was considered a prodigy in handling idols such as Rise herself, grooming her to go even further than before, like she is today. Rise had given much thought of going back into the entertainment industry after a long break to give way for her to finished high school. As such, Rise strives harder than before to grab hold of her fame again and this time, it was worthwhile since she was known to everyone worldwide.

Rise Kujikawa leaned towards the window, staring back at her manager.

The manager (Takeshi Yamada 健史 山田) cleared his throat. "The bad news is, Daichi Shiro, that songwriter of yours died in a plane crash on his way back from Germany to Japan. It was reported in the Internet while the concert is still on. I'm afraid that we have to find another songwriter to write the next single we're going to sell. But the good news is, you can go back to Inaba and rest for the time being, after all the concerts you've been through." The man said in one go. He knew that she was going to be somber about it, but she is just a normal person despite holding the title of being the queen of music in her era.

Then, she swallowed her tears back into where it originally came from.

* * *

The Amagi Inn  
Morning  
12th April 2016

"…with more tourists coming to Inaba and stayed in our inn, we have made profits out of the target we are intended to aim for. Let us give ourselves a round of applause." The owner of the series of hotels in the city gave a positive remark to her entire company, the rest follow suit, clapping among their achievements.

"It's a job well done, Yukiko-kaicho." Praised her assistant in front of the whole company. "Keep it up, all of you, and next year we would do even greater than before. The next meeting will be held next Monday, so you can now go back to your desks. That is all for today." As everyone leave to start off the day, leaving only Yukiko Amagi, the boss of the series of inns alone in the meeting room, signing a few documents before she left the room by herself.

She could feel her cell phone vibrating all of the sudden, in seconds she answered the phone, knowing that it would be another deal to clinch, or it was Teddie (In human form) getting into some sort of trouble somewhere at the mart where he would just recklessly trying to taste some delicacies he didn't paid up.

"Hello, Yukiko Amagi speaking…oh, it's you…right…right…I'll be waiting then…"

* * *

Car, on the way to Inaba Police Station  
Morning  
12th April 2016

She popped a CD inside the CD player; music began to play on the stereos. Leaning back at her leather seat, Naoto Shirogane, with her short dark blue hair (With her hair grown a little since her friend left Inaba), her usual hat that she often wore was gone. Instead, she donned a white T-shirt, a blue jacket and a pair of jeans when she goes out to work. Black rings surround her eyes, as she had watched a late night concert on television last night.

"Haven't been sleeping 'ell last night?" asked the man who was driving. Without speaking a single word, she nodded at the driver. "Look at where you're going. You've almost collide that other car; remember, you just got yourself a driving license a week ago." She fumed, not looking at the driver anymore. "If you're just someone else, I would have awarded you demerits points for not looking at where you're heading."

The blond man, whose name later turned out to be Kanji Tatsumi took the case of the CD, observing the handsome man in the cover. "So, you like classical music? Why didn't you say so?"

"Now you realize that, ok, I confess; last night I was watching his superb concert of his on television. His music is said to be better than brilliant and much more scintillating and resplendent. It was had to put them into words; the sounds he made on his piano are so magnificent that after his concert has ended you would be at the crowd, screaming bravo and encore as if you are in heaven." The investigator admitted, who got hold of the CD case.

Kanji gave the woman a smile. "Since you've described so much about him, why don't you find him then? There's been news lately that he has gone missing after his last concert somewhere in South Korea. And now fans of his are some damn mad rush on finding him as if he was some fugitive who broke out of prison." He joked, which rewarded the man a nudge in the stomach. Making a few turns in his steering wheel, he parked his car right at the space in between two other police cars, reaching her destination.

"Here ye go, and don't fret out if you can't get alone with your teammates. You need to socialize, enjoy yourself!" waved the newbie fashion designer before he drove off to his work studio.

"I don't even think about squeezing a moment to enjoy working. This is a police station, not an amusement park." Mumbled Naoto to herself. Carrying the CD with Shoji Akeno enjoying playing a violin alone, she walked up to the station, ready to solve another case as no case will be left unsolved by the legendary 'Detective Prince.'

* * *

The male brunette drove his **new motorcycle** he saved up to the train station arrived just in time, to fetch someone he didn't get to see for the past 4 years. He was afraid that his friend would not recognize him as he had changed as the years passed by. His hairstyle was still the same as before, but having his left ear pierced with some earrings. His hair got a little longer he was scared that Soji Seta would not know him anymore. As Yosuke rested on his motorbike, a familiar figure, his hair silver in color and of course, he did not change one bit (Even his hairstyle), except for his attire and a camera hanging around his neck.

"Nice to meet you again, Mr. Yosuke Hanamura. I hope you still remember me after these 5 years." The man greeted with a smile on his face.

The novelist patted his long-time friend on his shoulder. "Soji! Am I glad to see you again! Life in Inaba was sooooo boring without you around, and you didn't give us your phone number or e-mail address before you left. Man, some friend you are." Pouted the man, putting on his helmet. "Just so you know, I used up all my savings just to get this baby a ride! Yukiko told me to fetch you here, so where do you want to go, for now? You know, Nanako-chan's attending fifth grade now, and Doujima-san's busy with work. But ever since Naoto joined in, things got so much easier with her around." He continued, but Soji was just looking at a pale man, who sprinted away quickly and hiding his face behind his haversack.

"You find him attractive?"

"I'm a straight; a clean, straight virgin. Don't look at it in the wrong way." The silver-haired man shook his head, making sure that his friend doesn't take it the wrong way.

He hoped he really did take a nap after that tedious long journey.

"He fell in front of the crowd when the train reached Inaba. He was pretty clumsy and strange too. He's as pale as a piece of paper, and his eyes are…why am I talking about?" Soji shook his head before turning back to Yousuke.

"Err…never mind. So, where do you want to go? Officer Doujima and Nanako won't be home at this time of the day and I still have to part my money after 'Brown' won that bid back at the radio station." Putting on his helmet, Soji nodded. Noticing that the sky was clear; the same as he left to the city again 4 years ago, he was delighted that no mysterious murders has been occurring in the years.

"Let's head to Yasogami High. Looks like I'm starting to miss school. Got to admit, I have to beg my parents endlessly to come here again, using the excuse that I'm already 22 since they are leaving to Spain again this month…"

* * *

"_That was close…I almost got spotted back at that crowded train station. Wasn't this place quieter than I thought it is? I thought places on the countryside are less inhabited by people and populated with farms?" _Akeno thought, dashing away that his instincts are taking him. The fall has caught the citizens of the town massive attention, and he just knew that someone here would be able to recognize him.

Though a prodigy in the music area, he was not able to run any further. Back at Curtis, he was unrecognized related to sports, but he was rather popular with his music and his highly achieved academic results (With the exception of Math, which he had couple of problems to deal with.) by the students educated at the institution. He was one of the youngest student attending the prestigious academy and it wasn't easy for him to climb to the top of his class despite the highly extreme competitive grounds behind the facade of the prominent school. As one of the two students in the entire Japan to enter the much renowned school, he didn't feel as proud now that people were staring at him.

"You looked familiar…oh my god! It's that world famous musician Akeno Shoji! Everyone, I can't believe my eyes! AKENO SHOJI HAS COME TO INABA!!! Get the phone, quick!" Screamed one of the students who donned her spring attire, pointing at the man frantically. As she insisted on calling the crowd to come, more and more passersby crowd around the musician in a circle.

"Oh. No." whispered Akeno to himself under his breathe. With a blink of an eye, he disappeared in front of the crowd, breaking the circle with hoards of his fans chasing after him. To make matters worse, the more die-hard fans of his were screaming his name randomly; the attention drove towards the man as he step back.

"At this rate, I'll be stepped on like a doormat. Anywhere to hide…find…find…" his mind was in a blur, he was soon going to be too exhausted in running any further. Almost all his oxygen in his 'tank' was about to deplete if he keeps up with this pace. "…find…AHHA! The police station! Maybe someone would help me get this bunch of lunatic fans of mine out of my sight!" He thought, at last finding a place where he could avoid the crowd. Using all his might to get into the police station, he didn't see what was coming to him when Naoto, along with her two civilian clothing investigators, discussing about their next case.

"Sorry, you don't mind if you could control the crowd from telling that I'm taking shelter here." The black-haired said it quickly, the other two investigators looking at him in disgust.

"Who on earth are you?" asked one of them.

"So, you don't believe me then?" removing his shades, he revealed himself to be the infamous musician himself in person.

"You're... Akeno Shoji?" gasped the female investigator. Immediately, she looked everywhere in the building, pushing the man into the police station, hiding him in her own office.

"Wait till the crowd's gone, and we'll release you. Don't go anywhere." She warned. The woman brisk outside, controling the hoards of crowd chanting only Akeno's name.

"So, is there anything we can help?" probed the quieter investigator, whose name in his pass was Keiji Osamu.

One of the fans of Akeno's raised her hand. "Do you see our idol Akeno-sama anywhere? We saw him coming through the police station."

Naoto came forward, looking at the right side of the area. "That way. He went that way. If you can't find him, then it must be fate that you'll never see him face to face except in his concerts. Till then, he went that way." After a few greetings to the group of officers, soon the crowd was dispersed as what the lady had told them.

"Way to go, senpai! No wonder it's such a great chance working with you!"

"And now you can have Akeno-san all by yourself, talk about luck!" The two officers gave the woman a grin, Naoto paying no attention to her fellow colleagues. Sure that everyone in the police station knows who she is and her true gender (Which she enclosed it a few years ago), but as she turned back to the station swiftly she grabbed the man's arm, leaving the station as quickly as a leopard can run after its prey.

"W-Where are you taking me? Don't tell me you're one of them…please don't send me back to Tokyo!" pleaded the pianist, trying hard to be released from the investigator's grip. "Hey!"

"Shh. It's true I'm a fan, but trust me. I'll take you somewhere safe." Naoto assured, taking her cell phone out of her breast pocket, pressing the quick dial.

"Safe? Is there anywhere safe here?" yelled Akeno.

"There is one place that you won't be found and apparently I know this person very well-Oh hello, Yukiko-san. Reserve a room in the most exquisite room you had back at the inn of yours…yes…the deluxe suite will do too…to who…to a very important person. Very Important Person, VIP…"

End of Case 1.1 (Reunion/Akeno Shoji Arc)

* * *

New motorcycle: Yousuke has admitted, saving up for a long time to buy a motorcycle during his argument with Chie right after Teddie shows himself in human form and buy him new clothes. If you can recall, Chie had passed on the bill to Yousuke after buying pretty costly clothes from Junes for Teddie. So Yousuke got angry and that's when the 'New motorcycle' thing takes place.

**I'm really happy; happy that Persona 4 has finally reached the US. Though I haven't got the chance to play the entire game yet, this story was planned a few months back and on hiatus on development when work hinders my progress. I really like how the plot goes, so I decided to work on Persona 4, 4 years after the game ends from the True Ending. I'll be introducing other Persona series characters (Noticeably Persona: Revelations and Persona 2 of both titles. For Persona 3, only a selected few will appear since Persona 3 and 4 are in the same universe despite being different games.) But the characters in Persona 1 and 2 only have their looks and personality retained and does not know each other, even if the character meets another character in the same series and their age will differ to suit the mood of the story. (E.g. Mari/Mary does not recognize or knows Brad/Hidekiko if she happens to meet him somewhere.) **

**To tell you the truth, I prefer the characters from Persona 4 than in Persona 3. Because I feel Soji's friends treated him much like a close friend than a comrade in battle. I know that Naoto's personality is a little off at first, but I'll fix it when the story proceeds on. I hope you guys will like Chie in my story to have her language toned down a little. I found it a little offensive and overboard if Chie used too much foul language in more serious scenes. Wonder what would happen if I've done that as some of the victims entering the 'other world' are very sensitive and emotional to that sort of thing. If you're wonder about if there's going to be any connections with -trinity soul-, I'll discard it as if it has never happened. I really hate the way the anime turned out, so let's just say the -trinity soul- timeline, never even existed in my story even though -trinity soul- takes place in 2020.  
**

**I know that some of you will be flaming me that I've added some original characters on my own into this story. But rest assured that I will not add as much as my P3 fanfic **_**Aftermath**_**. And yes, if you're wondering what Yousuke is doing, he's a radio DJ/ personality. (But on my early drafts, I had a hard time thinking something for Yousuke and initially thought of him being a novice author. Doesn't really suits him, eh?) Guess he'll be working with Brad/ Hidehiko Uesugi from the first Persona games and suffer with him in his job, hmm? There well be a surprise arc in the story later on and will be using characters from one of the SMT series. If you are wondering which SMT series is going to appear in that surprise arc, stay tuned. The only clue I can reveal to everyone is that the surprise arc is something like another mystery arc to see who was thrown into the 'other world', except that this arc does not even involve the 'other world' at all.  
**


	2. Case 1: Akeno 2

Edited in: 29th December 2008 (Version 2.2, replacing some precise information in P4 True Ending, addition of lines.)

The Amagi Inn  
13th April 2016  
Afternoon

"… *Click* *Click* *Click*…" the sounds of the man typing his last remaining words in his notebook. Shifting his mouse around on the table, he double-clicked the 'Publish' button. The windows were closed and the curtains were absorbing the sun's heat, the room was dark enough without the lights on too. The blond, wearing a _yukata_ and the room was completely neat though he just woke up from his sleep, stretched his arms before heading to the bathroom with a body towel (And his clothes) to start the day despite now being noon.

"*Beep*…it seems you're awake now, so if you don't mind helping me a little at this time of the day?" the voicemail entered the entire room while the blond was bathing. "Just come down in 15 minutes to escort a very important guest into the inn just around the corner. Almost all the staff had gone for lunch, so just take this as a chore to start the afternoon, Teddie." The voicemail ended, with the name 'Yukiko Amagi' presented on the ID.

* * *

Yasogami High School  
13th April 2016  
Afternoon

"…This is going to be the last warning from me, you hear? You know that I'm a hardcore fan of kung-fu, but please don't _ever_ read it during class. I'm going to hold on to this for the time being, until you reflect on what you've done." Reprimanded Chie to her two students in the staff room, holding on to a kung-fu manga and chucked it into one of the drawers. "You can go now." Sighing, she carried on marking papers…

Until two unexpected guests came along back to school.

"It's been a while, Chie."

"AH! You almost scared me to death, Yousuk- Oh, it's you."

Yosuke and Soji were holding onto the teacher's shoulders and the female brunette, who was petrified that her long-time friend was back at the countryside again, gave him a big hug with tears almost surrounded her cheeks.

"Ahhhh…you're back…I thought that I will have to be a widower for the rest of my life to see you again…you can't do this to us…" the teacher in green whimpered like a teenage girl.

"So what gives when you're coming back to Inaba this time? What are you doing for a living now?" tons of question floated around Soji since they haven't been seeing each other in ages.

"I just transferred here by my boss as a journalist and working as a freelance photographer for the time being. Before I came here, I get to snap all these and I think some of these are pretty special. Take a look at some of them" Pulling the reflex camera out of his haversack, he introduced the photos he took on his way to Inaba. One could see a kingfisher scooping fish out of the river, and another could see a rainbow coming out of the sky.

"Talk about rainbows, there has been several heavy downpours this week." The radio personality reminded his old friend. "The announcer mentioned that it could be global warming doing all this abnormal weather problems, but we think of it as some other kinds of force." He took a big gulp at his ice lemon tea when the three arrived at Junes. "Ahh…refreshing…"

"So where's everyone?"

"All of us are going global: Yukiko's taking over her family's inn business and she's doing great, Rise's coming back to Inaba after that last world tour in Russia, she's made it big internationally after she graduated from high school. Kanji's just entered the fashion world and has been assigned in a big fashion studio outside town. I still wonder how come those damn experts look up on Kanji's sketches." Chie began to explain where their friends were.

"Naoto's just graduated from police academy and… she kinda rejected the proposal in joining the FBI in America. Instead, she came back and joined your uncle in the recent investigations. For Teddie…well… let's just say he's staying at one of Yukiko's luxurious suite and a famous blogger to date. Other than that, most of us are staying here." The other friend continued from where Chie has stopped. For a moment, people were starting to talk among themselves about the latest buzz happening around town.

"…I heard it from someone that world famous Akeno Shoji is hiding around Inaba. His manager disclosed his whereabouts while he was being interviewed…"

"…it's just a rumor, Minami. I doubt he'll ever be in this tiny countryside. Very unlikely, my deductions were always right. He's rich; he's world famous and probably hanging out either in Tokyo, Kyoto or even Osaka. Why not other major cities then?" argued the other lady.

"Erg, remember that last interview? Well, let's just forget about it. Let's go with the flow and find out about it tonight. I think the news station would be reporting this to the public…" Yosuke, Chie and their certain grey-haired friend stared at each other after the conversation ended, before continuing on their discussion.

"Friggin' rumors…tsk. Akeno Shoji must have run somewhere far, far away from Inaba." Whined Yosuke, turning away from the table.

"Who's Akeno Shoji?" questioned Soji, who did not know anything that regards music other than the music club he joined his time in high school with Ayane Matsunaga.

"What do you mean you don't know who Akeno Shoji is? You must have been living under the rock for the last century, man. He's world famous, WORLD FAMOUS." Yosuke spelt his name out slowly. "Anyone who doesn't know him would be considered a nut case. He's a world famous pianist, violinist and musician; his talent was known when he started playing the violin after turning 3, receiving a diploma certification on the violin when he was 9, enrolled in Curtis Institute of Music before turning 11, graduate from Curtis and became world famous at the age of 18." The male brunette pointed it out slowly, feeling a little proud of him. Pulling a wallet out of his pocket, he presented a photo of Akeno enjoying his moments playing on the piano.

"He looks pale, his eyes looked so strange…I've seen him on TV." commented Chie, picking the photo up to her desired level.

"He's part albino, his grandfather passed on that to him." The guy mentioned. "Speaking of television, I hope the Midnight Channel won't be coming back for a while."

Soji observed the photograph carefully, as the man in the photo looked familiar to the photographer. Surely he had seen him somewhere before…

The strange pale man who fell at the train station!

"Excuse me but I have to go fetch Nanako. Just say that I'm giving her an early birthday surprise." the silver-haired man grinned before taking his last sip of drink, leaving. The sounds of footsteps hustled on until his friends could see him no more, knowing that the person he just saw at the train station was definitely the same guy on the photo.

* * *

Doujima Household, living room  
13th April 2016  
Evening

"I'm so glad to see you again, big bro!" greeted Nanako, a little older from what Soji has seen 4 years ago. "I thought you'll never come back and visit us again!"

Soji smiled, patting on the girl's head as she held on tight to the freelance photographer as his uncle, Ryotaro Doujima carried Soji's luggage into the house. The house was still the same over the years, but they had replaced their old model of television into a new one, something that can last until the television is scrapped off for some money when it has turn faulty. The house was much cleaner, exactly when he first arrived in Inaba.

As for Nanako, her hair grew over the years, yet she still kept her trademark ponytail on, save that it was longer. She has grown taller over the years and her height has reached at Shoji's neck. She wore a dress similar to what she wore 4 years ago with the exception of a shiny brooch pinned on the upper side of her clothing. Ryotaro was still the same, with couple of white hair growing. All of them settled down on the table, the news was on by the time something was moving at the screens.

"…for news tonight, some has speculated that the world famous musician, Akeno Shoji, is currently residing in a small countryside at Inaba. Videos had poured in at the news station in the afternoon, proving that Akeno Shoji is hiding somewhere in Inaba. Let us see the video that someone managed to send." Reported the announcer in the act of the broadcaster showed a video of Akeno running away from his hoards of fans.

"…Don't come any closer…no…no…please don't take any more photos…stay back…" resisted the part-albino before running away from thousands of his fans.

"Back to the news, if you have witnessed to find Akeno Shoji residing in Inaba, do call this number if you have seen him." With a photo of Akeno residing beside of the news reporter, the report has ended, as Nanako turned back to her older cousin.

"Big bro, you think we could find him, meeting him in person? My friends in school have been talking about it." Said his cousin in glee, clapping her hands. "Shoji-kun's arrived in Inaba! Yay!"

"Have the police been informed about it?" asked Soji, turning back to his uncle. He gave a nod.

"Naoto had me informed when I turned up at the station. We have a number of possibilities that he is hiding somewhere safe. Somewhere that he can't be traced easily."

"He's not an escaped fugitive, Uncle Doujima." Assured the journalist, who let out a tiny chuckle. He stood up, going somewhere else other than the living room.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my old, sweet room. I'm bringing my stuff up; it's getting late. Where else can I go to at this hour?" asked Soji before bringing his luggage upstairs. He was worn out after taking too many pictures around town and was ready to fall asleep any second.

Fortunately, his room didn't change a single bit. Everything was intact, like the way it should be normally. _I should do a makeover in my room. It looks very plain and messy come to think of it._

Taking off some of his clothes out of the baggage, he changed into his pajamas before turning in for the night.

Or it should be a normal night, Soji thought. The lights went off as the man slowly falls asleep. The only sounds he could hear is the clock ticking away to midnight.

He turned to the television and whenever he felt someone was going to be murdered, he always looks for it for clues to know who it was. Taking a deep breathe, he waits for something to happen to his television patiently.

Both the minute and the hour hand have reached the 12th point. Nothing happens. He sighed, putting the pillow over his head as he decides to get some early sleep for work the next day.

* * *

Hill under a tree somewhere in Inaba  
14th April 2016  
Morning

As he carried a bouquet of daisies, some joss sticks and a basket of food to the top of the hill, Yousuke placed a small picture of the late Saki Konishi who was murdered 5 years ago by what he called Adachi a 'dumbass bastard' next to a tree. Using his father's lighter to burn the joss sticks, he does the normal procedures of visiting a deceased, showing the dead some respect.

"You know, time goes by so fast without you around. I hope you're not suffering in the afterlife, senpai." Begun the brunette as he laid the picnic mat out in the open next to the tree. "Good thing I've left the past behind and continue to move on with life. I'm enjoying my job as a radio deejay; save for those jokes 'Brown' put me down." He chuckled; it was only himself and his beloved senpai together for a small quiet moment, no one else was there to interrupt his time with his beloved senpai. The morning wind blew at the half-burnt joss sticks out of flames immediately.

"Heh…I just you must be listening to what all I've said to you, Saki-senpai. I must get going anyways. If you're still alive now, things might go in a different direction. By the way, your brother's doing a great job at the liquor store." The man finished off his basketful of sandwiches before he packed everything up, leaving the picture of the deceased victim and the half-burnt joss sticks intact.

* * *

Tatsuhime Shrine/ Shopping North District  
14th April 2016  
Afternoon

The sky turns cloudy after the clear weather in the morning as the grey-haired man has finished praying at the local shrine, familiarizing the countryside he was in again 4 years ago. Snapping the remaining dull but refined pictures around town, he decided to take a relaxing break around the riverbed where he used to go whenever he felt bored.

All that halted as he came across two suspicious people running away from someone. One had short dark hair, wearing a purple blouse with a white coat with it, along with pair of ¾ jeans and black sneakers. The other was much paler than the other person; his clothes were entirely black and white with the Gothic Lolita touch on it, with a pair of shades to cover his eyes from the public.

Coincidentally, he had the feeling that he had met them somewhere before. The one with short hair accidentally bump on the man, bowing down to apologize.

"I'm sorry, but are you all right?" asked the person, raising up her head and gasped when Soji saw who the person was.

"Naoto… Shirogane?" exclaimed Soji in disbelief.

"Shh…not so loud. Err…I have to go now…see you…If you have witnessed this, you are clearly deluded; it's not what you think." flustered at the outcome, she pulled the other person out of the place, escaping the clutches of the public.

"What is she doing here? Shouldn't she be back in the police station or be with her colleagues?" thought Soji before leaving for Junes to have lunch. After all, he was hungry and would come back to the riverbed later in the afternoon.

Turning back at his friend and the stranger, he soon realized that they were gone from sight. He could sense that his stomach is kicking him, yearning for food to enter the abdomen anytime now. Maybe he was just imagining things and after all, all the emptiness in his tummy is making him feel nauseous.

"Food comes first. Answers later. Why am I feeling so sick, arg…?"

* * *

The Amagi Inn  
14th April 2016  
Evening

"Here's your dinner for the day, Mr. Shoji." The tray was filled with his favorite dishes, _Inari-zushi_, a plate of cream flavored spaghetti, a glass of soda and an apple that will warm his tummy up as he arrived to this small rural countryside.

"_Arigato."_ He said before closing the door, leaving the man alone to enjoy his dinner alone all by himself. Noticing a white piece of paper placed on the table, he reluctantly opened it up, with bloody red words covering the entire paper.

"_AKENO SHOJI, I LOVE YOUR MUSIC. Go to hell."_

"Well, I didn't expect this one to come. Now I feel terrible." The part-albino sighed before he continued serving himself with dinner.

Before he could put anything into his mouth, a flicker shuts the silence of the entire room, leaving the man to be frustrated as he picked the sealed envelope in his room.

"What is it this time? I really hope this is not a prank made by fans." He ripped the envelope to find another abstract message written on the paper. He couldn't see this _'doctor' _handwriting clearly and it took him a while to get the full picture:

"_Your music sucks. Go eat shit."_

"Okay…I'm tired of reading these stupid messages. I'm not wasting time reading this crap. Why am I getting all those messages, did I offend someone?" He wondered the possibilities, finding if he did mention something nasty in the interview. He glanced at his food; all the insults he received have driven him hungry and exhausted.

"Oh well, I'm going to have my food nice and hot for heaven's sake."

* * *

Soji's room  
14th April 2016  
Evening

The room was certainly quiet like always. Concentrating on playing the recently downloaded massive online role-playing game in his laptop, he paid no attention to the clock ticking all alone, the music in his notebook playing softly to pass time quickly. Fortunately, he's playing Rise's new single released months ago. It topped the charts again for the 15th time during that week it was released.

He put on his coal-coated jacket as the weather gets colder by the minute. He walked to the fan, switching it off as to save electricity and tried to make an effort to save the Earth. After all, he doesn't like too much of a cold weather, neither he likes it when it gets too hot.

"_I'm pretty sure I ain't going ballistic over this…please tell me that nothing's going to happen to the television. That's all I want to know."_

Pressing the off button, he expected something strange and awkward to happen.

The television did not light up by its own.

He raised his eyebrows after leveling up in the game before turning in.

* * *

The Amagi Inn (Akeno's room)  
15th April 2016  
Morning

"With this much mail flowing early in the morning, I might as well have a breakdown, live in some kind of naturism place and cut down all connections within this world."

The sarcastically-said man ripped off all the letters (Including the one on his stay in the Inn) into two trash bags without reading the contents in it. Sick and tired of all the spam he had been receiving yesterday onwards, he was frantically thinking that the pranksters had gone too far in his 'confinement' in his newly apartment he was staying---for now.

"Those pranksters, I don't care for what or who they are but, they're sick."

A pale hand coming from outside, reached onto the door and making those soft noises of what they called knocks.

"Visitors at this hour? Must be Naoto checking on me again."

"Hello! You must be that Akeno Shoji everyone's talking about! I'm Ted-"

The onyx door shut in front of the blond.

"Talk about bear-ners. I just want to make more friends, what's wrong with that? Oh well, there's this gathering that Yukiko and I organized at Junes and I really want to invite him bear-ly, but man... I'll be taking my leave, then."

The pale but handsome blond, wearing a ruffled white shirt with a rose on his breast pocket and black pants ignored the room after that, after he slid a fully decorated envelope below the door.

Back in the room, the part-albino puffed, getting the man he acquainted remember very clearly. He put on his shades, place the pink envelope on the table before making a call to the only person he can trust.

"How does he know I'm living here? This place is not safe, I'm calling Naoto. Oh hi, Naoto-san…"

* * *

Inaba Professional News Agency  
15th April 2016  
Morning

"Seta-san? Seta-san, you may enter the editor-in-chief's office. Please note that you may not start work from today onwards." The receptionist called the newcomer, who led him to the door of the small office. The name 'Kaoru Shimizu' (かおる 清水) right at the door was written boldly, so much that it reflects so much on the editor-in-chief's character.

"Come in." boomed a masculine voice. Flinging the door towards him, the brunette, dressed in casual civilian clothing and his eyes glued to his work desk as he edited the final piece of the article.

"Just sit here. Yui, you don't mind me getting two cups of coffee for me?" Speaking in a telecom, his fellow colleague placed the cups of coffee on the table, smiling radiantly at her new co-worker. "She's Yui Shindo, she's our fellow reporter; sometimes she comes here and write articles. If you have been living here for the past 2 years she's our latest news reporter. Probably you've seen her on TV." He introduced the lady before she makes way between her editor-in-chief and her new colleague.

"As I was saying, you requested in transferring to Inaba was approved, even though you mentioned about several issues despite making it well to enter a better news agency than this." Spoke the editor in front of his new co-worker for the first time. "Anyways, welcome to the Inaba Professional News Press." He shook his hand with Soji before touching the keys in the keyboard. "Please don't ask me if I'm married. I knew anyone who comes here would be asking the same question over and over again until I get sick of it and those losers will never stop talking about that damn suicide case…"

The grey-haired man nodded as the other person in the room began to ramble to himself. He takes a few sips on his coffee before turning back to his new editor-in-chief.

"Err…I would like to ask a few questions regarding my job, and the incidents happening in Inaba."

"Speak. As you can see I'm a very busy man."

"Regarding to my job, I would like to start work tomorrow, if you could excuse me. I'm having something on after this meeting with you, Chief."

The man stopped using his fingers through the little buttons. He looked at the man from eye-to-eye, his boring frown turned to a warm smile as he chuckled.

"Well…I can excuse you since I'll be having a long meeting in the afternoon regarding to the columns on the newspaper. I'll tell Yui to arrange everything tomorrow morning when you start work, your work desk and don't forget your first assignments. You know that being a journalist is no easy task here, boy. Okay, what's that regarding to incidents happening to Inaba? The issues whether we can legally accept graffiti here? Suicide issues?"

"Actually, Shimizu-_kaicho_, I was wondering if anyone committed suicide are happening in town."

"If you talk about suicides, there's one regarding to a student studying in Yoruhama Elementary School." The man reported, massaging his eyes as he took off his red-rimmed glasses. "Famous investigator Naoto Shirogane and Officer Ryotaro Doujima has been investigating at this issue, but regarding to all the data they could find, they could not deduct anything to solve the case or suspect someone. I heard from the others that Naoto-san is checking at the case one last time today. If she finds any clues, then she'll continue working on it. If not, it's considered case closed and she'll claim the case as suicide. It's not for us to interfere, says the lady herself."

Soji nodded. "Then I'll see you tomorrow. Get going; you don't want me to make you stay here and write an article on the murder case I've told you earlier. Oh my god, what the hell…crap?" Kaoru mumbled quickly before turning back to the computer screen with his dear (And considered precious) article.

"_Hmp. Some workaholic editor-in-chief I have."_ The man thought to himself, rolling his eyes behind his editor-in-chief before leaving the office.

* * *

North Shopping District  
15th April 2016  
Late Afternoon

The man, dressed in the same Classic Lolita clad suit waited impatiently for his friend to come. Surely his friend does know the mannerism of punctuality, and keeping a man waiting for too long reflects well enough that the person is not good at being on time.

"What's taking her so long?"

"Sorry, I got to make perfect excuses to make those two let me get off the crime scene for a while. Someone commit suicide yesterday in Yoruhama Elementary School." The dark-haired lady apologized; her facial expression represents her being upset of someone dying. "But since I'm a policewoman, I shall leave the details to myself. But I'm not convinced that this is just a mere suicide case until further inconsistency takes place."

The man raised his eyebrow, coming closer to her with concern. "What happened?"

"There weren't enough clues to know what was wrong with the boy. I interviewed some classmates of his, but he doesn't seem to be the type to commit suicide or being unhappy with anyone. I've checked his family records too, and they don't seem to have enemies within their parameters. He doesn't have anything to hide either after checking thoroughly through the books." Explained Naoto, placing her 'Investigator' tag in her pocket. "I hope it's not going to repeat what happened 4 years ago."

"Hmm?"

"It's…nothing. I'm just wondering the possibilities how the victim got murdered, just like that. You see, it happened 4 years ago, but it's best if you do not know the full details of the incident. If there's nothing new I could find, I'll stop the investigation and declare this case as suicide. It's so untypical of me to leave this case hanging in thin air, but I guess how life's supposed to be."

Akeno looked uninterested in what his fellow acquaintance had mentioned. He was so fixated about something, mostly abandoning his work and worrying about his future path on his career. "Talking about incidents," the pianist began. "I met this crazy blond man who knows me that I'm there right after I ripped off those 'threats' I've received last night. You know this guy?" he asked as he bought a new hat from a store to cover his appearance but people were already looking at him, attracting attention from anywhere else he walked pass.

_Teddie! How did he know that Akeno was there in the first place?_

"Erm…Naoto? It's okay if you don't know him."

"It's all right…so what do you want to do now? I mean, I have to head back to the station by the afternoon to settle some administration issues." She scratched her head, feeling more bothered than before. "You don't mind coming with me? I have a friend I wanted to accommodate that I haven't met in 4 years. You won't feel lonely anymore, even when I'm not around."

The man thought for a while before replying the lady confidently, wasting no time in finding himself doing something useful.

"Maybe not. Remember that people are still looking out for me. Probably I'll go out on my own. I'll call you when I'm leaving soon; I'm starting to become attach to this place after all..."

* * *

Junes Food Court  
15th April 2016  
After School (For Nanako's case)/after work

"So, has everyone gathered?"

"Not Rise-chan. She has to attend a funeral on her deceased songwriter friend. She says she'll be arriving in Inaba as soon as it ends."

"Naoto has called and she said she's coming soon. I wonder why she doesn't want me to take her here; it's quicker that way."

The former members of their 'special' investigation team has all gathered (All except for the other two) in their usual hangout place when they were young. Seeing the changes in both their outer appearance and inner personalities, it has created a new start for the newcomer into the countryside again.

As for Chie, she has grown a little taller over the years, as well as growing her hair till it reaches her shoulders. Wearing a large (and a little oversized) sleeveless blouse, with some pearl beads attached on it, a white knee-length skirt worn under the blouse and a long pocketed black vest, many could see that she has changed a lot over the years, but her die-hard hobby; kung-fu remains identical to what Soji saw 4 years ago. He could witnessed the high school teacher avoid wearing high heels; replacing it with a pair of low heeled sneakers instead should she accounted with someone dangerous.

In the case of Yukiko, her trademark hairband was gone but her jet-black hair grew longer till it reaches her waist. Instead, she tied it up in a classic French twist, a red hairpin stuck on her new hairdo. She was still the polite and well-cultured woman the man last met 4 years ago before leaving to the city but maintaining a whimsical sense of humor no matter what situation her friends are in. As a well-known owner of a series of different inns, she gained huge responsibilities into running it while managing her own carefree lifestyle at the same time. With a fully-flowered red kimono and a purple sash on, nothing looks imperfect for the influential lady in the world of inn business.

For the guys, they have not changed much with the exception of Teddie, gaining a few inches and were as tall as the other two guys present at the gathering. Yousuke had changed on his appearance, but he kept his naïveté the same as it is like in high school. Donned an orange T-shirt, a pair of jeans with his new music player and the same old headphones, he was getting anxious in waiting for his friend any longer after 30 minutes has passed, tapping on his leather wrist watch.

"Hey, what are you looking at? You ain't starting any damn retard 'gender' jokes in front of me, you hear? You think a guy should not be doing this career? C'mon, man, at least of all the fashion designers I know, half of them were male. You better not scare the gut out of me!"

It was made clear that the former delinquent's personality remained intact after the 4 year gap as well as his appearance. But he had become a more-balanced person over the years, in terms of sensitivity. Other than growing a few inches or two for the course of 4 years, nothing has changed for Kanji.

"I thought we could hold up a reunion party or something, but this is what we can only come up with, especially when you're transferred to Inaba in such short notice. But we really hope you like it." Mentioned Yukiko, checking on her cell phone. "Since we're adults now, it seems that things are going to be hectic for us from now on. I'm contacting Rise to see if the funeral is over yet. Before we forget, welcome back to our special headquarters."

"Naoto's here!" waved Teddie at the masculine lady, noticing her group of friends gathered on the table now. She hasn't changed after these short 4 years, but her hat was gone, as well as growing longer hair till the shoulders. She looks more feminine now, but on the inside she was still the same serious and a no-nonsense person. Wearing something different, such as a light-colored long-sleeved jumper and a pair of slim-fit jeans (For comfort, or if there's any chasing she needs to do as an investigator.) anyone who knew her could said that her taste has changed significantly.

She pulled out her hand as the other guy did the same. "Welcome back, Soji. It's good to see you again."

"So, everyone knew that you're a girl now?" Soji asked, staring at the lady from head to toe. The way she looked at him, it was somehow the second time he could see Naoto dressed like this. Her appearance was more feminine, gentle, sweet… "Sorry, I guess I'm not used to it yet."

"I think so and just get accustomed on any changes. No one will mind what gender I am as long as they accept me for what I truly am. So, what brings you here to Inaba?"

"Obviously, its work that made me came here and secondly, I had some family issues back at the city. My parents' are off to Spain this time, like what they did to me 4 years ago." The man answered. "By the way, I've just transferred here just a few days ago and---I missed you all. That's probably another reason why I've returned." The grey-haired man said, but his eyes were dotted at the female investigator who was looking at a different direction.

"What are you finding, Naoto?" asked a certain Chie bluntly.

"Huh, oh…erm…nothing." She replied to the female brunette with a sigh of relief. "Perhaps I'm too tired in the recent suicide case, where a student in Nanako-chan's school was last seen lying on the school's entrance. I'm suspecting endless possibilities that this case isn't just a mere suicide case."

Yousuke signaled for his friends to come closer to the table without getting anyone's attention, whispering to them harshly. "You think…'its' back?"

"What's back?"

"You know…'that'?" At the thought of the cursed television channel everyone shook their heads to better forget the incidents.

Soji crossed his arms; he himself was trying to pretend to be a professional detective. "That can't be it. We defeated Izanami before I left the next day, and I doubt anything like that would happen in the Midnight Channel anymore. I'm pretty sure of it. Probably it's just the student committing suicide." Conjured Soji. He was optimistic that the serial murder cases has been gone for good since he and his friends were able to find the true mastermind behind the fog and the mysterious murders 4 years ago. It couldn't possibly return without Izanami, disgust as anyone in town doing something hazardous to anyone, or the Midnight Channel who would cause harm to anyone since her demise.

Yousuke shrugged his shoulders, who couldn't care less about it now that he's an adult now, but his mind was still stuck as a teen. "You could be right. You know, the world is such a weird place to live in. Nothing's predictable. So anyone wants a piece of pie made by Naoto? I've brought the pie with me she baked two days ago and it's really nice, I took a bite before coming to Junes…" He felt a sudden surge that he was being pushed forward on purpose. His face landed on the pie itself as Chie smirked at the younger blonde, going as far to give him two thumbs up at Teddie. Laughter began to fill up the place as well as forgetting about the Midnight Channel and past murder cases completely.

"I only started cooking when I entered the Cooking Club in my 2nd year in Yasogami. It's not as good as the others; but it's worth a try. Yousuke, what are you, greedy? Have all the pie you want. And one more thing before I forgot. Teddie, we knew that your birthday was yesterday, so I bought this on my way to Junes. I really hope you like it." She took out a box, tied with a cute ribbon on top. She helped in opening the box which later to reveal a birthday cake, along with the words 'Happy Birthday Teddie' and a picture of him in his Bear form drawn on the cake itself.

Teddie looked at the cake with tears flowing out of his eyes. "Oh thank you, Naoto-kun! This is the happiest day of my life! And to commemorade the day Sensei, Yousuke and Chie found me, they'll take the bigger slice of it!"

"Then what about us?" Rise and Yukiko fumed at the bishounen, upon saying that their three friends had the bigger share.

"Well..er..want a smooch from me, the sexy, handsome Kumada Teddie?" All he received was two tight slasp from each one of the ladies he did not mention to share the cake together.

* * *

"You got to be kidding!" shrieked the part-albino in English. "People going as far to this town just to get me?" Noticing the people in the convenience store glaring at him angrily, he quickly got out of the store, hoping that anyone who knew him would not recognize the infamous musician.

"Man, I need to get used to Japan. Being away for so many years makes me wanna brush up my Japanese and my common etiquettes here. Oh well, I'll just treat it as a trial period for me." He mumbled to himself in English, then in Japanese. Back at the States, no one would stare at him if anyone shouts but in this country, he had to be mindful of his words.

"I wonder if Naoto's still stuck at Junes' now; it's getting late soon…" he thought to himself, looking at the time at his wristwatch. "Guess I'll be taking a visit at that shop."

Upon reaching Junes', he didn't paid much attention at her old friends she was talking to and greeted her as he looked at her face, smiling and talking freely among themselves.

"It's getting late Naoto, you want to-"

Soji instantly recognize the part-albino back at the train station. The musician's face darkened, and no sooner the other members of the former 'Investigation team' found out that Akeno Shoji, the infamous musician, was standing right in front of them.

"You're…Akeno…Shoji? The world-famous…musician?" stuttered Kanji slowly. "You…really came to Inaba? Then those rumors the town folks are saying were true?" He took a closer look at the musician as he took a step away from the former delinquent.

"Naoto, you didn't tell us that you've been tending to him all this time? And the reason why you came late?" it was Chie's turn to probe. "Don't tell me you and him…" she covered her mouth immediately, staring intensively at both Naoto and Akeno.

"What's going on here?" asked the hotel manager, clueless about what's going on.

"So you're friends with those people, how could you?" Akeno's tone was unbelievable harsh, mad at the sight of the people she was seeing. At first glance the ladies at the table were stunned and dazzled at his looks. But after hearing his demeaning voice at the female investigator, they couldn't register his mean behavior to memory.

"Akeno, WAIT! I can explain all this-" But it was too late for Naoto to defend herself. The part-albino had left his stage.

End of Case 1.2 (Akeno)

* * *

Trial Period: Usually that applies to foreign students studying in Japanese schools to get used to life in schools in Japan if they intend to stay in Japan. Since Akeno leaves to America when he was 11, he is not so much used to the common life in Japan. I hope that applies to him too, since he's been away from Japan for so long.

**Ahh… another chapter done, though it is quite tedious to mention how the characters changed in both appearance and personality (More on the appearance side.) Sorry for the long wait, need to check everything so that it's all good and accurate. It's not really perfect; I edited out too many things I think they are uninteresting or sounds wrong; so much that I've lost count. Right now, this is the best version I can get in expressing Akeno's feelings and emotions. (He sounds rather dead and unimportant in the early drafts). That includes the minor characters I've added to make them look more interesting and quirky. Note some of the references pointed from the game. **

**Things will definitely happen in the next chapter. I'm trying my best to make the characters believable and realistic as much as they can to mix well with the other victims who will be involved in this new mystery the Investigation Team will definitely face. I apologize for the amount of words on this chapter; have to squeeze in so many things because I don't expect this arc to drag on. Just a few more chapters before I'll move to the next arc. So many things, so little time. Also, I've made the changes, so I hope you would like the contents for the upcoming chapters to see how the murders were being done and processed.  
**


	3. Case 1: Akeno 3

16th April 2016  
Doujima Household (Living Room)  
Afternoon

"I'm home!" Nanako yelled at a distance as she placed her shoes on the doormat. Soji turned, working on his first article regarding on the recent student suicide case. It was period that Naoto had decided to declare the case unsolved today afternoon since it was not worth the time to check out a case with limited evidence that lead to nothing new.

"That was early. So, how's everything in school? And I see that you've learnt how to cook when I wasn't around for the past 4 years. Maybe a try at your honed skills someday?"

"I'll be glad to. It's time for Dad to eat something healthy. Burr…I can't stand thinking of all the ramen cups we've ate when you left. I'm already sick and tired of eating ramen or processed food over and over again. So I decided to be in the Cooking Club just for Dad's sake." Both of them took a quick chuckle before anyone goes on with the simple and plain conversation.

He went on with his job as Nanako sat on the dining table, munching on her self-made biscuits and milk she baked during her stay at the Cooking Club. All was peaceful and quiet in Inaba since his arrival back to the small countryside and nothing was strange in particular, except for the suicide case that has been going on lately…

"Teddie and his friends sometimes come here to visit me and daddy so that I won't get bored. When daddy has to go back to work at night, Teddie comes to my house and takes really good care of me. I wonder if I could do the same when I grow up." The fifth-grade brunette said as she spoke what was on her mind. "But it wouldn't be the same without you, big bro."

Soji was amused at what Nanako had told him. After all, she's still the same young, innocent girl whom he had in this town 4 years ago. As she put her empty cup of milk into the sink, she took a peek at what her older cousin was typing before she realized that she was sitting too close at the screen.

"Sorry…I'm just curious after all. I wanted to tell daddy to get me a computer, since all my friends in school has one but I'm scared that daddy doesn't have the money to buy one." Nanako replied shyly, her face went blushing red all of a sudden.

"Then I'll buy you one then. Sounds good for you?"

"Really? Thank you, big bro! You see, I've been wondering if I could use it for school work. My sensei has been telling us to use the computer for assignments…"

* * *

16th April 2016  
Inaba Police Station  
Late Afternoon

"That's it; we're closing the case today."

"But why, Detective Naoto?"

"There are not enough evidences to get this case running. After all, I'll re-open the case if there are any new leads."

"…fine, then. I'll check on someone to get the case closed."

"Everything's settled and if there aren't any problems, everyone can be dismissed."

Leaving the meeting room after a thorough check on the suicide case involving a fifth-grade boy, Shirou Kurosagi, Naoto could sense that uneasy feeling that the case shouldn't had ended that way. With the 'other world' dangerous no more, she could not detect something abnormal with the case itself. That knife…he held it in a suicidal stance and there was no doubt, without a flinch of an eye that the boy had killed himself on that night.

To check things through once more, she took a file out which marked 'In progress' and removed the parchment attached on the plastic seal. Reading the details one last time, she noticed her colleague whom accidentally issued a search warrant went to check on Shirou's room, snapping a photo of it a few days ago. True enough of his character, the room was neat and tidy, with a little balcony outside. Naoto took a closer look at the room carefully and noticed something stood out on the floor. It was a square-shaped object, shiny on the surface…

"_A laptop?" _ That puzzled the famed female investigator out of the blue. With two tables, one just about 2 meters away from his bed, and the other near the wardrobe, why can't the boy used either one of the tables to use the computer rather than just lying on the floor?

"_The victim was last seen using the laptop on the floor before leaving the house at approx. 9 pm on 13__th__ April 2016. He was seen outside his own school: Yoruhama Elementary School by a security guard the next day at sunrise. To interview his parents why he insists on using the computer on the floor, they agreed that he has been doing it for the past month after receiving a merit on his Math test. Something that he did not hoped for in his result slip." _She read the last stanza of the report before it ended in a strange manner. The report felt incomplete by the minds of the detective, the methods Shirou placed and used the computer…

"Oh, to hell with it!" Naoto muttered to herself before leaving the meeting room, using a phone at the reception corner. She couldn't get through Akeno's phone after she tried some couple of times before her grey-haired friend entered the police station without any early notice.

"So how was it going with Akeno?" asked Soji in a softer voice, forcing himself to smile in front of his friend as she stood startled, knowing what she was thinking the moment he met her.

"He's not picking up. He's probably still antagonized after what happened yesterday at Junes. It's my entire fault; I should have told you guys on his arrival at Inaba or keep a close watch out for him. Just so you know; he hasn't been staying in Japan for years now." Naoto shook her head, crossing her arms. "You think there's a chance that this might be a case concerning the Midnight Channel?"

"Depends on what you think." The grey-haired raised his shoulders. "You don't mind telling me what happened on the day of the incident?"

"I'll tell you and everyone else soon enough when there's any new evidence on the case. For starters, I would like to get that laptop back from his room. That particular object might be the key of this entire case after all." The woman investigator spun to her close friend immediately, pulling the man's arm all the way out to the entrance.

"W-wait! Where are we going?"

"To Shirou Kurosagi's house. Don't worry; I have a search warrant with me, so going there once more won't be a problem."

* * *

16th April 2016  
Late Afternoon  
Shirogane Household

"Grampa, I'm back. I brought a friend with me and I'll be in my room if you need anything." Naoto yelled as soon as she put on her slippers, leading Soji to her room. Unbeknownst to the young journalist, her room was exactly three times bigger than his own room; the floor was made of real marble, the glass panels which led to a large balcony and some pretty costly furniture were placed in this such big yet empty room.

"I'm not convinced that anyone will be surprised barging into my room." She continued. "Up till now, the only boys that entered my room were my Grampa and Kanji; Kanji sewed me a scarf on my birthday 2 years ago and we celebrated that joyous occasion together in this house. I've tried to avoid attention to the others as well, who knows what the girls, Yousuke or Teddie might react if I allowed Kanji to be my only guest to ever sneak a peek here?" She chuckled before initiating the on switch at Shirou's laptop. Figuring out the password was a walk in a park to both investigators, though reading the deceased's web log was a tough task, given that the boy had written at least one entry every single day.

"It seems that he's the type to keep things on track. Where do you want to start with?" whistled Soji, his eyes glued to the screen. Naoto rolled down the cursor as she searched intensively for the article that may seem out of place or strange. The latest entry of the blog was written 'This is goodbye. I will be seeing you in Heaven.' And it was written on a day before his corpse was discovered in the entrance of the school. "Hmm?" Naoto moved the cursor into the comments button, revealing most of the comments written on the page itself.

By looking at all the comments, the later the messages, the more disturbing the contents of the comments are. Both Naoto and Soji's eyeballs popped out when three out of the thousand comments written contained critical information to the reason why the boy committed suicide without anyone knowing.

"Shame on you. You should be ashamed of yourself." "I knew what you did. I watch your every move; day and night, dusk to dawn." The maiden comments caught their attention. But there's more. The last comment was even more disturbing than before.

"To die or not to die. That is the only answer."

* * *

16th April 2016  
Night  
Doujima Household (Soji's room)

Gazing at the ceiling of his room with the computer screen shone brilliantly at the grey-haired man, he was deep in thought of the comment that he found fixated at.

"_To die or not to die. That is the only answer."_

That quenching feeling was felt all over his body, to see if he can reminisce anyone who was involved with the Midnight Channel case. Namatame…no…it couldn't be him. Even for a guy like him, he wouldn't dare to lift a knife to kill someone. Adachi…zilch chance. He's still serving in prison…the idea of thinking about the other suspects were quickly dismissed, frustrated at the complexity of the case. _Why does it bother me so much? I have no involvement in it, right? _

Ruffling his hair into a big mess, he remembered something that Yui told him back in the office a few hours ago after checking out the victim's computer at Naoto's house…

"_He's a pain in the ass, huh?" Yui asked, taking the files from Soji's desk. "The Editor needs a break every now and then. Since the death of his sister, he's been acting like this ever since." _

_Soji was fiddling around his pen, listening to his fellow colleague complaining about her work load. He does not see the point why his workaholic editor-in-chief was obsessed with work. Things had gone back to normal after the death of a student who had decided to take his own life after receiving nasty comments in his blog entries._

"_Do you watch television in the evening?" Soji nodded like a small innocent kid. "Well, rumors had been spreading that this weird website has been appearing lately. If I remembered clearly I think it's called Scoopglass. There are almost any videos you can find, whether if its forbidden videos that can't be access in other video browsing websites. Everyone in Japan knows about it. Somehow many saw a video on the victim uploaded by the victim himself. No one knows why he did that. You could write a report about this website too, if you want…"_

"Scoopglass, huh?" he typed the link down into the box and saw thousands of featured video. He couldn't view the video and a notice window came along, asking Soji to be a member of the website community. He clicked the 'Sign Up' button without hesitation, filling all the details needed to be a member. Finally, he is a member within Scoopglass. When he browsed the videos in the 'Latest' section, he saw a video which was untitled, with only a black screen on the picture. Out of curiosity, he proceeds on by watching that untitled video.

It began playing.

The dark screen began showing but as it goes on, there was a chuckled beneath it before gradually turning it into a menacing laughter. Soji thinks that the video was beginning to creep him out; he tried pressing the 'Back' button but it didn't work. The evil merriment just keep turning louder and louder.

The experience was too horrifying that even Soji can feel that the laughter is forcefully pulling him into the evil world beneath the merriment. He pushed the 'Ctrl + Alt + Delete' button before pressing the 'End Task' button on another window. He finally got himself out of his own nightmare but there was one problem.

There no way he would want to sleep for the night. His heart was palpating continuously, thinking that another scary video will end his life with a heart attack. He heard thunderstorms outside the house before raindrops starts to pour from the red sky.

* * *

17th April 2016  
The Amagi Inn  
Morning

The puffy, translucent grey cottons in the sky gathered like a shepherd calling for his sheep as they covered the town with raindrops falling from the sky. The sounds of the frightening thunder scared almost every kid staying in this rural but lively town. Things were going as normal for the town folks busy with their lives but things aren't going too smoothly for a certain blond with bright baby azure eyes…

"You want me to give this to him?" raised Teddie, holding a tray of Japanese delicacies in his hands. The lady boss in the inn gestured at the blond man, her eyebrow raised in front of him.

"Why not? And please don't eat them, they're for our guest." She slapped the younger blonde's wrist as he reached for the snacks. "After all, he hasn't come out of his room since yesterday. Neither did he want to see anyone after what happened." Yukiko shook her head, feeling a little drowsy. "Look, just check out on him to see if he's okay. He might be the next victim of the Midnight Channel like Yousuke told us last night." She gestured Teddie to get along with his duties, chasing him out of her room before anything unusual happens in the Inn.

"Hey….Yuki-chan…WAIT!"

The door slid shut. SLAM!

"What am I going to say to him?"

With his mind in a blank, Teddie figured out that he has to do that by himself. He was part with the trouble along with his friends, particularly with Naoto and Yukiko. Standing in front of the onyx door, the only thing he had to do was to serve him breakfast and apologize.

"Erm, Akeno-san…are you in there? I've come here to serve bear-fast, hello?" he howled. With no response on the other side of the door, he starts to pounce on the door gently.

"Don't tell me he's been abducted?" Teddie speculated before pouncing on the door so loud that some of the guests staying in the inn slid open their doors to see what the commotion was about. Unaware at what was happening beyond the door, Akeno, with his hair uncombed for days slid open the onyx opening. Looking rather annoyed and irritated, he snatched the tray of delicacies into his room before slamming the door with brute force at the blonde.

Everyone around the corridor whispered to themselves before the aisle turned silent again. Only Teddie who remained at the corridor was delight that his newfound friend (Or rather his 2 day-old acquaintance) was not the next target.

On the other side of the door, Akeno turned to his metallic-like laptop he had switched on for days. Messages or threats were showing every hour for the past 2 days and he was worried that he might not get out of this undeserved jeopardy, alive.

"I-Hate-This."

* * *

17th April 2016  
Junes Food Court  
Afternoon

"I've received a message from Rise an hour ago, and she's probably coming back to Inaba tomorrow." Chie announced it to the rest of her friends. "The sky looks so dark and I'm expecting that it's going to rain tonight. By the way, where's Kanji and Yukiko?"

"Kanji's probably too busy with his job at the studio and Yukiko's having a rather hard time to gather some important stuff back at the inn." Teddie told her. "It's a Sunday after all, why are they so kicked on working?"

"Duh, money matters. You won't know how tough I have to put up with stupid jerk's pain-in-the-ass antics again and how easy your job goes. It's a _wonderful _world, in your empty brain's point of view after all." Yousuke complained with a sarcastic tone, playing with the straws on his drink.

"I have to agree with Yousuke for once. I still have piles of papers to mark back in my room." The female lecturer said jokingly. Soji faced his friends on the table again as he signaled his buddies to come a little closer after experiencing the horror in Scoopglass last night.

"You heard about Scoopglass, right?"

"Everyone knows that website. So what's so strange about it?"

Soji explained everything that happened to him in the strange website, the horrors and the victim who uploaded a video at himself.

"Hmm…another exotic mystery. But about that black video with the crazy laughter, that can't be hard to believe." Yousuke inferred.

"So what are we going to do, Sherlock?"

"We can't underestimate what Soji-san told us, yeah? I believe that something-glass-"

"It's Scoopglass."

"I believe that Scoopglass might be created be something mysterious, spiritual, dark, monstrous…but let's check it out again tonight. I'll check out the paradise if anything goes out of range, I'll inform everyone." Teddie said, looking uncertain of the road ahead.

"Right."

At the other side of the table, the dark-haired investigator was all quiet for the whole meeting, her attention raised when Chie nudged her by her arm.

"Oh." She exclaimed half-consciously. "I was deep in thought of all the connections of the victim I had in mind. I can sense something peculiar about…Scoopglass, am I right at the website?"

"Yes, you are, Naoto-kun."

"In any case, it doesn't seem a normal average boy in an average family has any enemies. It doesn't make any sense, but I'll sign up in Scoopglass tonight."

* * *

17th April 2016  
Shrine  
Late Afternoon

The man dressed in an ebony suit settled himself down at the stairs of the shrine. With only the sounds of the howling wind and the fizzing of his can of apple cider he bought from America, he expected no one he knew to visit the lonely musician who departed all the way to Japan.

"Hi, are you new here? It might be your first time here. I'm Nanako, nice to meet you." The girl with ponytails introduced at a stranger she'd never met. Despite several warnings from her father after being abducted by another complete stranger 4 years ago, she has managed to sneak outside the house to get some fresh air. She has cooped up in the house for the entire day and had no plans of going out with her friends.

Akeno smiled at Nanako. "Call me Akeno. Just taking a refresher, that's all."

"You looked distressed. Perhaps you might want to pour out your problems to me. It's not healthy to bottle your problems up, that's what my cousin said." This petite girl asked, staring at the handsome part-albino dreamily. Akeno hand over a can of apple cider to Nanako.

"You look thirsty. And it doesn't contain any alcohol. Well…it's a long story after all, but I have some personal troubles on my own." The man began to confess to Nanako. "You know what I'm getting into?"

Nanako nodded with understanding the man. "Did I see you somewhere before? Hmm, but that's not the case. You don't mind if I could give you an advice, but just do your best. Don't let what other people think put you down. It's the only way I can help." She smiled before turning back to Akeno.

"Of course, though I have to go back now. Especially you, when it's about to rain soon." Akeno placed the empty cans of apple cider into the bin. "Be careful on your way home, see you again."

Nanako walked out of the shrine upon finishing her can of apple cider.

It does taste like apple juice.

Familiarizing the face of that stranger, Nanako remembered that he was the world famous musician after all.

"Wait up, Mr. Akeno-" Akeno was nowhere to be found.

* * *

18th April 2016  
Doujima's household  
Evening

Soji, Nanako and Ryotaro were sitting together on the floor having their dinner on the table with the television right in front of them. Tasting the scrumptious dishes both Nanako and her certain grey-haired cousin had prepared, they were enjoying the meals while watching an interview that takes place a few days ago before Akeno does his 'disappearing act' in front of his fans and the public's eyes.

"…now we're back to the show. And here sitting beside me is the world famous musician Akeno Shoji! So Akeno, do you have any plans after yesterday's concert in South Korea ended?"

"Plans…well…erm…not really." He mumbled softly. Though he wasn't too confident at what he was saying, his fans sitting with the audience started screaming out loud, cheering their idol when he turned away from his fans.

"He's so cool…" commented Nanako, her face started to blush in front of her father and cousin.

"Not to mention, I really need a break after traveling to so many countries. It's a wonderful experience, but after seeing my fans around the world for so long, I have decided to go back to Japan." The guy seemed distracted all of a sudden, but his fans didn't put much concern to what he had mentioned.

"Oh, I see, and written on this slip of paper, there's a question from one of your fans-" the crowd started making noises all over again. The host of the show waited for the screams to die down before moving on with the question. "As I was saying, there's a question from one of your fans and he or she would like to ask 'If there's any place you would like to go for your next concert, where would it be and why?"

"About that…I would go somewhere different from anyone else because I want to see a different side of a glamorous country, like countryside, something like that." After answering the question, the fans didn't look too pleased at his answer.

"Well…that's all for tonight. Akeno Shoji will be taking a break after the last concert in South Korea and will return soon after his long vacation somewhere in Japan. This is Davis Yamazaki; you have just turned in to-"

"That's it for today. I don't know what he was saying in that stupid interview but it's getting late now." Ryotaro, who was stressed out after days of investigation on the suicide case retorted his family grumpily. He had switched off the television on purpose, hoping that he wouldn't get his thoughts all clouded with the disturbing case he was working on. "Bring all these back into the sink and go back to your rooms! Man, why's my head feeling so painful all of a sudden? Hey Soji, get me the painkillers in the refrigerator, NOW!"

* * *

18th April 2016  
Doujima's household (Soji's room)  
Evening

As soon as he heard door knocks, Soji quickly ran and twist the doorknob to see his younger cousin standing right in front of him.

"May I come in?"

"Sure, is there anything you need help with?" the journalist asked, closing the door quietly as Ryotaro has gone to bed early after swallowing all the painkillers in the refrigerator. Nanako take a seat on his sofa, looking a little exhausted after all the homework she had to complete.

"Dad's in such a bad mood today. I wonder if he's going to be all right. It's pretty strange, with all the murders and all taking place in Inaba again." Began the ponytail girl, stretching her arms. "It's getting dark outside, and unfortunately I'm unable to go outside says Dad that it's going to rain. I'm afraid; I wonder if this town is going to be dangerous again."

"I'll protect you, don't worry." Soji exchanged a hug with his cousin to show her comfort that everything will be all right. Nanako felt much better and happier after being hugged by her older cousin.

"Thanks, big bro! To tell you what's on my mind, I think I met Akeno Shoji, that famous musician we've saw on the news a few nights ago and that interview we say just now, in person in the afternoon." She then came closer to Soji's ear and whispered softly. "While Dad's not looking."

"_Akeno? What's he doing outside?"_ thought Soji as he felt something strange on his toes.

"Yeah, so what about him?" asked Soji casually.

"He looks kind of troubled. I wonder if he managed to go back home safely, he wasn't all I expected like what I hoped in that interview on TV. So, it's getting late. You should be resting for the night too. I hope I won't be bothering you." Immediately when Nanako left the room, he turned on his laptop and get to Scoopglass immediately. A new video that featured Akeno, uploaded by Akeno himself has just uploaded in the site.

He clicked on the video shown. The video played almost immediately. Carrying an electrical guitar and wearing punkish accessories with his rock punk attire, the man seems very different…much more different…

"To all of my fans out there, WELCOME TO MY LIVE CONCERT for tonight! I'm your most admirable idol you'll ever meet, Akeno Shoji to bring you this extravaganza to see this superb, daring and sexy superstar on stage." He exclaimed with a wide grin on his face. "You fans out there will definitely love me after you guys watched my fabulous concert here. But first, I need someone to sing with me on stage!" He left after making the speech and before anyone knew it, the video ended abruptly.

His cell phone began to ring and Soji found out it was Naoto calling.

"Hey, Soji-senpai. Did you see that video on Scoopglass? Akeno is definitely inside the website, Scoopglass is definitely an exact copy of the Midnight Channel. Yousuke told everyone that we'll be meeting in the Amagi Inn first thing tomorrow morning. We'll find a way to enter the other side when we get there."

"I'll come. Just call up the others to bring their glasses and weapons tomorrow, too. We won't know if we are going to use the glasses on the other side of Scoopglass."

"I concur that. I'll be seeing you there." The phone conversation ended.

Soji had never crossed the idea that Akeno will be in danger. In GRAVE danger. Soon, he began to do some research on Akeno Shoji as there won't be enough time for him to ask people about him the next morning. Slowly, he typed in the name 'Akeno Shoji, world famed-musician' into the search engine along with filtering the useless links that does not find what he really need. Thousands of articles about Akeno Shoji appeared on screen. After a fair bit of getting a few more resources to get some worthy evidence to see what is Akeno was like…

"Ahh, this one's trustworthy." He clicked on the link given as he read the interview slowly to find out more info about this man…"

"Akeno Shoji, 22 this year, whereabouts currently unknown after final concert in South Korea… Is shy in personality and does not get with people too well but still manages to have many fans around the world…Akeno's from a strict family and due to the prestigious Shoji family background this behavior he carries was adopted…what's this?"

He moved the cursor and clicked on another article mentioning about the secrets and rumors of the famous musician. He didn't at all trust the website due to its gossiping and mild disturbing nature but he decides to give it a try.

"…he mentioned once in an interview and this comment was disclosed from all magazines after saying that he doesn't like doing the same things in his concerts and would like to experiment in different types of music. This was of course felt by his fans that he was going against his fate of his job…I see, that's how it is…"

End of Case 1.3 (Akeno arc)

* * *

**Sorry I took a long break; I've got so many things to complete in a short time, so there you go the 3****rd**** chapter of the story. I would even want to consider changing the title of the story. If you have any suggestions for the new title, PM me. And to all, have a Happy Lunar New Year! Because of the comments you've given me, I am motivated to complete this chapter as fast as I can. There are so many things to edit and yet I'm suffering from a writer's block due to the number of tests I had for the week. You might have to wait a little longer for the next upcoming chapters.**

**Yes, Scoopglass is mostly based on Youtube but with changes involved. I'm so bad at thinking of names, sigh. I know it's a bit rushed with so many changes now and then. So Scoopglass is a replacement of the Midnight Channel, you might not be surprised what's going to happen when the gang solved the puzzle to enter the other side by using Scoopglass. I know this sucks, but you have to find out yourself to look at the bigger picture of the new mystery wrapped up by me.**

**I'm so bad at writing mysteries. Guess I go for the comedic gender-bender Soji X Naoto story? Only be coming at early November 2009.**


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